Skype Legal battle puts Skype’s future in jeopardy

LONDON, England – A legal battle has put the future of Skype in jeopardy, according to eBay, which owns the online communications system.

If Skype loses the right to use a key part of its software and can’t create an adequate replacement, “Skype’s business as currently conducted would likely not be possible,” eBay said in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

There is no sign of Skype disappearing soon — a relief to the more than 480 million registered users who have video or telephone conversations online through the technology.

But the battle with Joltid, the company that created the piece of technology at issue, shows no sign of being resolved anytime soon, either.

Joltid complains that Skype broke its licensing agreement to use the technology. Skype filed suit against Joltid in Britain, saying it could not terminate the license agreement; Joltid struck back with a counterclaim saying Skype had broken the agreement.

A trial is scheduled for June 2010, eBay said in the SEC filing.

“Although Skype is confident of its legal position, as with any litigation, there is the possibility of an adverse result if the matter is not resolved through negotiation,” eBay writes. “Skype has begun to develop alternative software to that licensed through Joltid. However, such software development may not be successful, may result in loss of functionality or customers even if successful, and will in any event be expensive.”

U.S. offers up to $50 million for Mexican cartel members

U.S. authorities have ratcheted up pressure on one of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartels, releasing new details about the so-called Gulf Cartel’s operations and offering up to a $50 million reward for the arrest of its leaders.

Concurrently, prosecutors updated a separate indictment against three other top leaders of the Gulf Cartel: Antonio Cardenas Guillen, Jorge Eduardo Costilla and Heriberto Lazcano, for drug trafficking related crimes, all believed to be at large in Mexico.

Fifteen other suspected cartel members are also named in that indictment.

“We have learned that the most effective way to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations is to prosecute their leaders and seize their funding,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a statement.

To that end, the departments of justice, state and treasury are working together to place pressure on the Gulf Cartel and what authorities describe as its ruthless enforcement arm, known as Los Zetas.

The Department of the Treasury designated the four top bosses named in the indictments as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers, which authorizes the freezing of any assets they hold in the United States and other sanctions.

The Gulf Cartel and Zetas, nicknamed collectively as “The Company,” are among the major drug cartels that are behind the drug-related violence that has swept Mexico in recent years, according to authorities. Since taking office in 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has made fighting the cartels a major priority.

The group also operates in cities across the United States, authorities said.

The court documents detail telephone conversations between the four leaders and more than a dozen other cartel members allegedly discussing the transportation and smuggling of cocaine and marijuana into the United States.

“These indictments allege a stunning and sophisticated operation by ‘The Company’ to move illegal drugs into our communities and cash back to Mexico,” Breuer said.

The State Department is offering a rewards totaling up to $50 million for information leading to the capture of four top leaders and six other cartel lieutenants.